Newkirk will have surgery soon and is expected to be back by fall camp, according to Malzahn

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Four-star junior college transfer Daquan Newkirk won't be able to see the playing field at Auburn just yet.

The 6-foot-3, 285 pound defensive end prospect tore his Achilles tendon Wednesday, Feb. 28, according to head coach Gus Malzahn.

"It's a really unfortunate deal," Malzahn said during his first spring press conference on Thursday. "He's had a very good few weeks of preparation."

Newkirk will have surgery soon and is expected to be back by fall camp, according to Malzahn.

"It was a really tough, tough thing on him," Malzahn said. "Boy, he was off to such a good start and was doing great in our MAT drills but it’s not the end of the world. He will be back, we expect him to be back in fall camp and so he’ll be back and I think he’ll be ready to go."

Auburn's lone JUCO commit in the 2018 class committed to Malzahn back in 2016. Two years later, after a pit stop at a community college in Mississippi, Newkirk arrived on The Plains.

Additionally on Kevin Steele's side of the ball, Malzahn confirmed that freshman linebacker Josh Marsh "will also not go through spring."